Henry “Hank” Oyama Papers,
1945-2003(Bulk 1973-1980; 1991-2002)

MS 448

This collection contains the papers of Henry “Hank” Oyama that relates to his pioneering work in bilingual education in the Tucson area. Of particular interest are documents that discuss his work in bilingual education at Pima Community College. Included in the collection are newspaper clippings, correspondence, bilingual education research, and conference papers. There are also several publications related to Pima Community College and bilingual institutions in the greater Tucson area.

Biographical Note

Henry “Hank” Oyama was born in 1926 and grew up in Mexico. He is of Japanese descent, and his first language is Spanish. His father died before he was born, and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandfather in Nogales. When his grandfather passed away, he and his mother moved to Tucson where they lived until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Oyama was fifteen years old at this time, and he and his mother were interned in concentration camps along with thousands of other Japanese and Japanese Americans. After the release of the internees, Oyama and his mother moved to Excelsior Springs, MO. Upon graduation from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and he was assigned to the Panama Canal Zone because his first language was Spanish.

In 1947, Oyama left the army and returned to civilian life where he earned a BA and MA in Education from the University of Arizona. Throughout college he worked for Tucson Newspapers, Inc. In 1952, he began his teaching career at Safford Junior High School in Tucson. Three years later, Oyama began his efforts in bilingual education when he was selected as a faculty member at the brand new Pueblo High School. At Pueblo, Oyama designed and executed a plan to teach both Spanish and English to native Spanish speakers. Through this program, he became involved with two U.S. senators who introduced national legislation to provide funding for bilingual education. At the age of 33, Oyama fell in love with Mary Ann Jordan. However, there was still a law in effect that banned marriage between Asians and Caucasians. After taking their battle to court, the two were married in 1959. Their first child died of leukemia, and they went on to adopt four children. They were married until Mary Ann’s death from heart failure in 1987 at the age of 55.

In 1970, he left Pueblo High School and began working for the Bilingual and International Studies at Pima Community College, becoming the dean of that program in 1978. He retired after 22 years at Pima Community College.

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains correspondence; reports; files related to conferences and events; journal and newspaper articles; and publications. The time period represented in the collection is 1945-2003, but the bulk of the items are from 1973-1980 and 1991-2002. Most materials relate to Henry “Hank” Oyama’s involvement in the bilingual education movement in the Tucson area as well as his work for general Mexican-American rights. Reports and research for the reports make up the largest series in the collection. The reports are from all over the United States and relate to bilingual education and Hispanic issues. Of note in this series are Oyama’s handwritten notes referring to some of these reports. There is also a large amount of material dedicated to the English Only/English Plus More debates of the 1990s in Arizona.

Restrictions

None

Copyright

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish
from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record,
the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The
user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the
University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all
claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.

This series contains final reports, draft reports, and notes regarding research for reports on bilingual education and Hispanic issues. Some of the reports are written by Henry Oyama, but the majority is reports from various organizations involved in bilingual education and Mexican-American rights.

This series includes minutes, programs, presentation notes, and invitations for various conferences, meetings, and events that Hank Oyama attended or participated in from the 1970s to the 2000s. Most events are related to his work in bilingual education, but a small number are of a personal nature.

This series includes scholarly journal articles, newspaper clippings, and Internet articles related to bilingual education. There is a heavy emphasis on the English Only/English Plus More debate of the 1990s.

Addition to papers documenting Henry Oyama’s leading role in fundraising for scholarships for bilingual students through various organizations. The papers consist of scholarship requirements, meeting minutes, consultancy and financial reports, donor lists, scholarship backgrounds and event planning.